The Wood Buffalo rental market has seen a big increase in the apartment vacancy rates if the newest Canadian Housing and Mortgage Corporation report can be believed. The report shows that in October of 2015 around 30% of apartment building units were vacant, and that is roughly triple the vacancy rates that were seen just one year ago during the same month. The number of vacant apartments in Wood Buffalo during October of this year is also higher than it was in April of 2015, but the data for April and October of 2015 is not fully comparable because there are different factors involved with each month that do not affect the other month. CMHC analyst Braden Batch explained that a long term trend in the Fort McMurray area is being exaggerated by low oil prices an an employment slump in the oil industry as a result. Batch said “Over the last few years, you’ve seen a lot of growth in the work camps, in the fly-in fly-out population. I know that in 2014, that number was still growing.”

One reason for higher apartment vacancy rates in the Wood Buffalo rental market may be that more people are choosing to fly in and fly out of local work camps instead of renting an apartment in Wood Buffalo. Another factor that may be involved is the weak job market right now. Oil companies have laid off workers over the last year, and since Wood Buffalo is in the heart of the oilsands these layoffs have had an effect on rentals and the local economy both. Hopefully things will pick back up soon.